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I don’t listen to pop music and I don’t really care about Drake’s new album, but when I have to do a pop song for homework - I deliver. My main focus while composing the instrumental was to employ a catchy melody(using the Arabic  scale) into a steady beat while leaving enough sonic space for a really compressed rapping vocal line to be under the highlights. I also made sure the song has a super spacious intro and bridge section so that the verse strikes the listener with a subtle change in sonic environments. The top line (aka vocal line) is just a suggestion; the actual lyrics would definitely be switched to something that induces sweet and sour emotions. In my Electronic and Computer Music 2 class, my classmates and teacher improvised over the instrumental of this song, which resulted in the final version of What we do. 

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Inspired by the harmonic series and how they relate to rhythmic repetitions, I created a short musical piece that goes through different textures and unique sounds that exchange roles both abruptly and smoothly. Here is the piece represented graphically:

The following graphic may help you imagine how different rhythms overlay:

I had a preconceived idea to play around with polyrhythms and compose a short piece that sounds both mechanical and flowing at the same time. I looked at a metronome and some graphical representations of polyrhythms so that I could imagine how the beats overlay.  I went to the studio with my friend’s seven string guitar and started experimenting with the different guitar effects that Logic provides. After hearing how spacious the guitar effects were, I decided that the drum kit should sound as a metronome - dry and with a fast release. The song’s intro naturally included guitar harmonics on the bass guitar (used the 7 string through a bass amp) and arpeggiated harmonics on the first three strings of the guitar. The rest of the song just flowed out because I already had the structure planned out. The polyrhythm sections evolve throughout the song from 5 over 4 to 3 over 4, to 7 over 4 although, there are some transitions from section to section. The piece ends with an outro of ambient guitars and a 5 over 4 rhythmic section. 

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Mini - report #3 FM Synthesis

Jake Bookbinder presented a thorough guide to FM Synthesis with in-depth analysis of it’s functions and an awesome demo song, composed solely with synthesized sounds.

Frequency Modulation Synthesis is a form of audio synthesis that works by combining simple wave forms to achieve new sounds. For example, combining two sine waves an octave apart would result in a gritty, thick and dark timbre that resembles a sawtooth wave. A plethora of new sounds can be achieved by changing the relationship of the Carrier and Modulator frequencies. To clarify: the Carrier oscillator provides the main sine wave and every additional Modulator signal alters the original signal more. The Carrier and Modulator are also called Operators.

A harmonic relationship between operators results in a harmonic sound. Analogically, non-harmonic relationships can result in atonal and tonal-bell-like sounds and percussive sounds can be easily be created.

Jake also talked about the history of FM synthesis: The technique was developed to be implemented digitally by John Chowning in 1967-68 and was patented and licensed to Yamaha in 1975. It was first designed for radios to transmit voice by having a very high frequency wave carry the original signal, which was later separated from its carrier by the receiver.

Some of the first generation digital synthesizers were based off of FM synthesis. Yamaha’s DX7 synth was used by anyone who wanted to make electronic music in the 1980s and that was evident as most of their tracks would sound pretty similar to one another. The DX7 provided 32 different algorithms that represent different configurations of synthesized sine waves. It is well known for its electric piano, bells and plucked sounds which work with complex attack transients, which most analog synths couldn’t reproduce at the time. I conclude my mini-report on Jake’s mini-report with this classic 80′s track exemplifying one of DX7′s cooler sounds - the slapping bass.

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Mini-Report #2 Physical Modeling

For his Mini-Report, Theodore presented on Physical Modeling.

Theo covered a lot of interesting concepts pertaining to the synthesis and modeling of sound and the algorithms used in the process. Physical Modeling is a method in which a sound wave is generated and modeled to simulate a musical instrument. One of the first methods of achieving that was the Karplus-Strong algorithm: A burst of white noise is sent to a delay line. Afterwards, the sound is simultaneously output and fed into delay line that is L samples long. Lastly, a low pass filter is applied to the signal, which is then simultaneously mixed back into the output and fed back into the delay line. The Yamaha VL1 modeling synthesizer (released in 1994) uses this method to emulate different instruments.

A more modern version of physical modeling is exemplified in Logic’s Sculpture.

Sculpture provides three unique options to shape a sound:

String: This section allows us to choose the material of the exciter, media loss or how much sound is lost from the environment and we can also modulate the tension of the string, thus changing its momentary detuning after its plucking.

Object: Here we can set up to three parameters that affect the string and consequently change its timbre.

Pickup: This section emulates the pickups of an electric guitar and allows us to choose where they are placed along the string. We can also change where the three objects from the previous section affect the string.  The rest of the sections work as expected and allow for a fine modeling of the newly generated sound.

Theo's presentation has definitely given the class a spark of inspiration and has certainly inspired me to look into physical modeling for my future projects. He finished his mini-report with the world’s first “singing computer”:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIrX8YpiJgA

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Mini- Report Rubric: Compression 101

 In our most recent Electronic and Computer Music 2 class, Adam Witkowski presented a thorough mini-report on Compression. Starting it off with the history of compression: compression’s first use was to keep radio towers from blowing up by limiting their output. He also mentioned that the first compressor was the LA2A, which had only 2 knobs.  On the technical side of compression, Adam gave a detailed explanation about the parameters of modern day compressors and what’s their use. His example of how a waveform changes it’s shape when compressed linked very well to the renowned “Loudness War”. As Adam finally brought up feedforward and feedback compressors, it was starting to get a lot clearer on when and why would we want to use compression. Ex: Why would we want a slower compressor that works with the output of the circuit? Because it lets the signal breathe and usually makes it sound larger and richer; works well with vocals that need help filling up space in the soundscape.  Adam finished his presentation with a very bold statement claiming that compression shouldn’t be used on acoustic sources as it makes it sound lifeless. Of course, in music there is never an “always” nor a “never”. On a recording, an acoustic guitar and acoustic bass might not always sound as present as you want them to be. Compression can be used to even out the resonance of the instrument to keep the main character of the instrument from getting lost in the mix and to avoid a muddy sound. Here are some good settings to fix that:

Threshold: –6dB

Ratio: 3:1–4:1

Attack: Around 150 ms

Release: About 400 ms

Gain: Adjust so that the output level matches the input level. You don’t need much added gain. Of course, this is all relative but playing around with these settings will be useful for the purpose. Overall, Adam’s presentation was greatly detailed and his delivery was flowing and clear.

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Week One: Text – Sound “The Invisible Generation” by William S. Burroughs A list of creative uses for the portable cassette recorder.

1. Can record and playback different types of sounds for in depth analysis.

2. Can edit sound - take out any part of a conversation that seems inappropriate.

3. Can speed up a recording or play it backwards.

4. Can create new words by slowing down, speeding up, reversing or inching tape.

5. Can edit a recording of a conversation to change what the person says.

6. Record an argument and play it back from two tape recorders, each representing a different individual in the argument. 

7. Can input a recording onto random parts of another recording to create mixed messages.

8. Combining the sounds of an environment with a recording of a monologue can add atmosphere and additional meaning to the recording.

9. One can learn how to imitate peoples voices by recording them and analyzing how they sound when they speak. 

10. Anyone can record any number of important conversations they’ve had and play them back for their personal use at any time.

sound, liberation, magic, freedom, phantom, technologies, juxtapositions, inexorable